Europe’s Misery Spells Opportunity for Rich Americans

Every Tuesday on VF.com, filmmaker Jamie Johnson offers a glimpse into the secret lives of the super-rich.

She’ll take it. All of it! Photo credit: Condé Nast Archive.

Earlier this year, when German politicians called on the government and citizens of Greece to resolve their debt crisis by selling off precious state-owned islands that are central to the country’s heritage and identity, most people dismissed the move as a diplomatic sucker punch. The Germans were using combative rhetoric, the international community thought, to express their outrage at having to rescue the Greeks from impending financial ruin.

But in the U.S., these comments were taken by the vastly rich to mean that great opportunities were beginning to surface for those wealthy enough to purchase a Greek island of their own. Bargain hunting for real estate in the Aegean and Ionian Seas has become a new American pastime, made all the more appealing by the advent of the summer holidays.Several individuals I know have acknowledged obsessively searching the Internet into the early morning hours for listings of private Greek islands (which are free to be bought and sold independently of a formal government offering). A summary Google search for “private Greek islands for sale” turns up multiple listings for properties that are already on the market. In many cases, the isolated plots of land are priced comparably to typical beach houses in chic resort towns. So for the cost of buying a home in South Hampton, Nantucket, or Northeast Harbor, a family can own a beguiling piece of the ancient world.

Just as in Greece, poor economic conditions across most of Europe are renewing the old continent’s popularity among well-heeled American travelers. The dollar is strong against the euro, which is making trips across the pond cheaper than they have been in recent memory. Over drinks at fashionable Manhattan bars, friends are now making plans to rent castles together instead of visiting prominent local country homes on the weekends. One acquaintance of mine somewhat sarcastically explained the trend as an expression of noblesse oblige. It’s really a selfless thing to do, she told me, since those poor Europeans need the money more than we do.

Economic aide arriving on European shores in the form of personal American fortunes is nothing new. At the turn of the 20th century, fabulously rich individuals from the U.S. bailed out a number of struggling European aristocrats who were at risk of going completely broke. One story from the time concerns a close friend of King Edward VII and his desperate courtship of a distinguished New York heiress. This ardent suitor’s proposals for marriage were rejected outright by the Gothamite on several occasions, so he was forced to address his obvious need for a dowry more directly. “When I first asked you to marry me,” he said, according to an account by a contemporary social historian, “my proposal came from my head. Now it comes from my heart.” Although the line sounds suspiciously earnest, it actually worked. The heiress was married, and she maintained property in England throughout her long life.

Again this summer, rich Americans are on tour abroad. Look for them in Greece and all over Europe, where they will be vacationing acquisitively. Though the economy at home may still be unsettled, the old adage continues to hold: one man’s loss is another man’s gain.